Two different views toward Pope Francis

Two different views toward Pope Francis: Conservative and Liberal Jiae Kim University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Fall 2013

Two different views toward Pope Francis

Introduction: My faith About five years ago, I struggled a lot about schooling decision, and because of this my faith was challenged and strengthened. In my home country, Korea are excessive competitive for university entrance exams. When I prepared that test, I was forced to study harder by my environment and it made stress me out. Finally, I could not control myself and I failed to the test. I did not know what to do for future and I felt everything was over. When I was standing the edge of cliff, I became to more rely on Church and it made me refresh. Through the Church, my mind set was getting relieved and I became to know how to act with brave and certainty in a tight spot. Furthermore, unwavering faith has supported me to think positively and voluntarily help other in need. I am still imperfect but if I am asked to define being catholic, I could give an answer without hesitation; love. I have learned how to love, embrace and care others without pay or reward. I have once asked to my mom about why she tried to do volunteer work. Actually, she would volunteer at social center, elderly home, orphanage, etc. even though she is busy. She answered me, I feel blessed when I sincerely give do service for others in need. It is not because I have expected them to give back something to me. If I help them with love, I would be certain that people around me will definitely get love from somewhere when they need help. Thats what I learned from Catholic. I would love to live for others. I was greatly impressed to her response and it has affected me to have my own definition of being Catholic. The other who recently impacted me is the new head of Catholic, Pope Francis. His step shows his truly love. His recent interviews have brought hot issues to the church but I think the one who makes it controversial is media by reporting it exaggeratedly. Pope Francis basically suggested everyone has to be loved. When he conducted interview, he mentioned homosexuality, the role of women, divorce, and birth control which processors showed a passive attitude to refer. It has consequently brought immense disputes in Catholic and still it is a religion hot potato. In this paper, I will deal with

Two different views toward Pope Francis

different opinions toward his interview and how impacts my personal faith.

Literature Review [Pope Franciss Interview]: Pope Francis was elected as the new head of Catholic on March 13, 2013. He was the first leader of Catholic Church from Western Hemisphere. The Pope received lots of attentions from all over the world and two recent interviews of him have caused a great sensations, because rather than predecessor he does not hesitated to talk about the complicated issues; homosexuality, Gender role, Contraception, Abortion, Divorce, etc. The main interview I will deal with in this paper is conducted by Father Antonio Spadaro, editor of the Italian Jesuit publication La Civilta Cattolica on Sep 20, 2013. Saletan and Kuriakose break down the English translation of the interview, published by the Catholic journal America. The other interview was conducted on flight which Pope Francis rode from Rio de Janeiro to Rome on July 29, 2013. It was spending 80 minutes answering questions. Those interviews show Pope Franciss definition of the church. Pope Francis considered himself as a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon. In addition, he said he is no one to judge about homosexual. He insisted that gay marriage, abortion, etc have to be treated in a context. Following this, he added the teaching of church is clear and he is a son of the church. When it comes to women in the church, he said the woman is necessary and essential for the church. Then, let us look thorough historical responses about the same issues.

[Historical Responses about Gay, Women, Abortion, Divorce, etc]: Gibson and Speciale compared the present Pope, Francis with predecessors by contrasting their interviews. The immediate predecessor, Pope Benedict said homosexuality is incompatible with the priestly vocation in a 2010 interview. On the one hand, Pope Francis made sure this teaching

Two different views toward Pope Francis

of the church is clear, but on the other hand he said he is not to judge the gay person. Actually, Pope Francis did not deny to the teaching of church and the predecessors. He has just wanted to give love, mercy and forgiveness to everyone according to the teaching of bible. When it comes to women in the church, the pope before Benedict, John Paul affirmed that the door for women to ordain priesthood is closed. Pope Francis also reaffirmed the Churchs prohibition on ordaining women to priesthood, however, he added that the role of women in the church need to be more considered unlike the predecessors. In addition, by the recent interviews the Pope Francis asks people to show mercy for divorced and remarried Catholics. According to the YouTube video(Sodre, 2013), Pope John Paul strongly rejected the use of condoms compared to Pope Francis. Overall, Pope Francis presents soft attitudes on media towards people who have difficulty in living in society, and undergo much suffering from others cynical views.

[Terms] To ordain priesthood: An ordained minister is one who's been appointed to the job by a special church authority. If you've ever had to sit through a lecture about the evils of too much TV, you know that a person doesn't need to be ordained in order to preach. When you say that people have been ordained, you usually mean that they've been invested with special powers. After a priest has been ordained in the Catholic church, he can perform sacraments. Such priests are higher up in the church hierarchy than others, and those below them can be called their subordinates, a word also related to ordain. Pope John Paul: In 1978, John Paul made history by becoming the first non-Italian pope in more than four hundred years. As the leader of the Catholic Church, he traveled the world,

Two different views toward Pope Francis

visiting more than 100 countries to spread his message of faith and peace. But he was close to home when he faced the greatest threat to his life. In 1981, an assassin shot John Paul twice in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. Fortunately, he was able to recover from his injuries and later forgave his attacker. John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, at the age of 84, at his Vatican City residence. Pope Benedict : Born in Germany in 1927, Pope Benedict XVI grew up under war reparations from World War I, as the Nazi regime was gaining power. He was briefly a member of the Hitler Youth in his early teens, after membership became mandatory in 1941. He turned to theological studies after the war, helping found the influential journal Communio. He was elevated to the papacy in 2005. In February 2013, Benedict XVI resigned from his position as pope. Benedict XVI served as pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013. He is best known for his rigid views on Catholicism and topics such as birth control and homosexuality. In February 2013, at the age of 85, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would be resigning on February 28, 2013becoming the first pope in centuries to step down from his post.

[Conservative and Liberal attitudes toward Pope Francis interview]: Pope Franciss interview has overwhelmed and caught the worlds eyes. Conservative and Liberal Catholic certainly acknowledge the Pope did not violate the teaching of Catholics in the interview. All of them know he never abandoned Church teaching, never said something totally new in this interview. However, what makes an argument between them? This is because of the different view of his way of speaking. Chapp and Lawler, far left conservative Catholics, pointed out the problem concerning to his cajoling tone because it might give aid and comfort to the enemy (Lawler, 2013). They understand what Pope wants to say but they insist that as a great head of Catholic, Pope should have been careful of the way of speaking. Popes careless to

Two different views toward Pope Francis

choice words or expressions gave a chance for press to distort sensational headlines; Catholic Church Could Fall Like House of Cards, Church Must Look Past Small Minded Rules, Pope Says I Am a Sinner, and Pope Francis has said the Catholic Church is too focused on preaching about abortion gay people, and contraception. Furthermore, they

asserted that this kind of comfort approach might look like Pope Francis seems to be willing to give a chance to denounce the predecessors, because all of them used rather strong tone about those issues we have mentioned. Goodstein agreed Pope Francis words evoked gratitude and hope from many liberal Catholics who had left out in the cold during the papacies of Benedict and his predecessor, John Paul , which together lasted 35 years(2013). On the contrary, Longenecker, liberal pastor, shows positive and liberal attitudes towards it since people are encouraged to be closer to Pope Franciss inside; to love people, put them first. Goodstein also values this interview as a presentation of the Pope as a human being. To be specific, this interview shows the fact that he pursues the Church as the home of all and asks to always consider the person. Through NPR news, I have observed optimistic views toward the Pope Franciss interview. Father Reese described his response as one word, delight. Father Reese gave applaud to his simplicity, straightforwardness, honesty pertaining to complicated issues. Besides, he absolutely approved to the Church image as a mother because he thought the present Church is changing and seems like nagging parents or disciplinarian. Therefore, Father Reese and Longenecker appreciated with the popes new approach, and they considered it gives a big step forward, and liberate a lot of people and a lot of priest. Bishop David OCoonell, on the Youtube video, said the predecessors and Pope Francis have a slight departure, not a great one. This is because ultimately they are speaking as one voice: we are obliged first and foremost always and everywhere to show love and respect for other people(2013).

Two different views toward Pope Francis

Entering the conversation: love and mercy I totally agree with the image of the church as a mother which Pope Francis has suggested. I have best friends who have transferred his gender as a female or become a homosexual. I have another best friend, who has divorced parents. I know all of them had no choice to decide. One of my gay friends tried to deny his situations and purposely dated with a girl because he was afraid of other s view toward him and wanted to be normal. Also, another friend who has divorced parents has still hidden the fact about her parents to others, since she can not endure the perspective of one single parent family. When I look back on my life, I had never sincerely cared about how those kinds of people spent hard time against negative stereotypes. As I am growing up, everything makes me reconsider about it. As Pope Francis says, do we sincerely have a right to point the finger of blame at them? My answer is NO. Far left conservatives affirmed that the bible does not accept homosexuality, divorce, abortion, and women role. They produce Leviticus 20:5 as the main evidence. It said that Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable. I agree with this phrase and their opinion. However, they are missing the most important, basic, and fundamental factor:love. I earnestly let them hear another biblical expression: Mattew 9:1013. Jesus had dinner with tax collectors and sinners even though Pharisees could not understand about why he ate with them. Jesus said, however, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Jesus gave attentions to those who had social discriminations. What it means is we need to have mercy to them as well. As who needs a doctor is the sick, who extremely needs a Jesus is the alienated. Turning back against them would be the cruel and awful punishment. In this perspective, I think Pope Francis words Who am I to judge? are words to instill people to break barriers towards the socially weak. By Romans 12:18, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. The whole things I have

Two different views toward Pope Francis

mentioned indicate that the basic bottom line of bible is real love under Jesus. Hatred and ignorance are not our words. Love is the only answer to make everyone as one. I think what Pope Francis wanted to say was such a infinite love. In the interview, Pope Francis says the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars!(Slaten, 2013) Pope described the present Church as a field hospital after battle. In other words, during urgent and dangerous wartime situations, saving life is the primary goal. Lots of regulations, conventions and rules are after healing wounds and saving life. The weak people, such as my some friends I mentioned, do just want to get love, care and attentions. Judging and criticizing them are neither our job nor duty. Just embracing them as a family is needed.

Conclusion/So What I have looked deeply into the church in Pope Franciss mind by analyzing lots of resources. The recent interviews present Pope Francis emphasizes the mercy, forgiveness and loves towards the disadvantaged, weak and alienated. As everyone has a different style of speaking, Pope Francis just has the different one but he is not teaching different thing against the church. Conservative Catholics reacted sharply about the interviews since it might give room to distort Catholics and blame predecessors. However, Liberal Catholics appreciate his new approach because it liberates lots of people and make them start to discuss about complicated issues which used to be hesitated to talk. As Pope has said that he is no one to judge people, there is no one to be able to judge them. Church is not a place to make any confliction and argument. To someone, the church is the only place to rely on. In this perspective, Pope Francis asserted the necessity of helping support the most vulnerable members of society: homosexuals, divorced people, women, etc. I hope the Church does not lose sight of the

Two different views toward Pope Francis

fundamental love.

References Chapp, L. (2013, Sep. 27). Being Honest About Francis. Ethika Politika. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from website: http://ethikapolitika.org/2013/09/27/honest-francis/ Gibson, D., &Speciale, A. (2013). Pope Francis changes Catholic Churchs tone on homosexuality. Christian Century, 130(17), 14-15. Retrieved October 1, 2013, from website: http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=10&sid=4fdd7fda-9f04-4ef4-a9ed558d402beeb4%40sessionmgr110&hid=102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY 29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=89746549 Goodstein, L., & Yardley, J. (2013, September 20). Pope Says Church Is 'Obsessed' With Gays, Abortion, Birth Control. (Cover story). New York Times. pp. A1-A11. Retrieved October 3, 2013, from website: http://www.lexisnexis.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=67 42&sr=BYLINE(goodstein)+AND+HLEAD(Pope+Says+Church+Is+%27Obsessed%2 7+With+Gays%2C+Abortion%2C+Birth+Control.)+AND+DATE+IS+september+20+2 013) Kim, J. (2013). Catholic Community Ministry observations note[surveys]. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from moodel2 website: http://moodle2.uncc.edu Kuriakose, D. (2013, Sep. 19). Pope Francis: I am a sinner whom the lord looked upon. The Guardian. Retrieved October 15, 2013, from website: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/19/pope-francis-highlights-interviewamerica Lawler, P. (2013, Sep. 20). The Key to Understanding Pope Francis: the 99 lost sheep. Catholiculture.org. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from website: http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otn.cfm?id=997 Martin, R. (Interviewer) & Reese, T. (Interviewee). (2013). What Was The Pope Thinking?[Interview audio and transcript]. Retrieved October 4, 2013, from NPR news website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=225023369 Saletan, W. (2013, Sep. 19). Pope Francis Is a Liberal. Slate. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from website: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2013/09/pope_francis_in terview_forget_homosexuality_and_birth_control_he_s_a_flaming.html Sodre,R. (2013). Bishop: Pope Francis' views on gays, contraception are 'slight departure' from predecessors. [Youtube video]. Retrieved October, 3, 2013, From YouTube website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8334xaRfy88 Spadaro, A. (2013). A Big Heart Open to God. America, 209(8), 14-38. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from website: http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview